art galleries & museumsin paris

Paris has some of the finest and most celebrated art galleries and museums in the world. Just three alone will make massive inroads into available time in this timeless city: the Louvre, of course, is renowned for Western art from the Middle Ages to 1850; the Musée d'Orsay is devoted to all the arts between 1850 and the First World War, while the amazing bit of plumbing that is the Centre Pompidou is the only museum in the world to offer an overall view of 20th- and 21st-century art.

centre pompidoumusÉe national d'art moderne

Housed under one roof, the centre houses one of the most important museums in the world, embracing the leading collection of modern and contemporary art in Europe, a massive reference library, educational activity areas, bookshop, restaurant and café.

Places Georges PompidouTel: 01 44 78 12 33www.centrepompidou.fr

Open: daily except Tuesday (and 1 May) 1100-2100

musÉe d'orsay

Right in the centre of Paris on the banks of the Seine, the Musée d'Orsay occupies the sight of the former Orsay railway station. The museum displays collections of art from the mid-19th century to the start of the First World War.

A chance to admire the works of Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Degas, Gauguin and Rodin.

This former residence of kings is one of the largest palaces in the world, and certainly one of the most illustrious. Today it houses not kings but an outstanding collection of ancient and Western art.

It is arguably the world's best-known and most-visited museum, and an enduring symbol of French excellence.

The museum houses over 35,000 pieces of artwork dating from antiquity to early modern times.

musÉe rodin

Featuring, of course, the work of Rodin, this museum houses a superb collection of sculpture, drawings, prints, paintings, ceramics and photographs.

Housed in a splendid building set amid a peaceful garden.

79 rue de VarennesTel: 01 44 18 61 10www.musee-rodin.fr

Open: daily except Monday 1000-1745.

More Paris museums and art galleries, all available through the Paris Pass

·Abbaye Royale De Chaalis·City of Science & Industry·Conde Museum - Château de Chantilly·Dali Museum·Gourmet Chocolate Museum·Grevin Wax Museum·Gustave Moreau Museum·Maurice Denis Museum·Museum of 3D Relief Maps·Museum of Air and Space·Museum of the Arts and Invention·Museum of the Asian Arts·Museum of the Cinema·Museum of Decorative Arts·Museum of Fashion and Textiles·Museum of French Monuments·Museum of Jewish Art & History·Musée de l'Institut du Monde arabe